Congress has been mulling over the fate of the Secret Service and how best to overhaul the agency after a series of mishaps that eventually led to Director Julia Pierson's resignation just 18 months after her appointment.

While the Secret Service's problems can't all be laid on Pierson's shoulders since the issues ran deep and were already embedded within its culture, her failure as an effective leader underscored the organization's hidden problems which were "allowed to grow and fester," said former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Todd Keil.

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Some security analysts say the first step in dealing with the Secret Service's insular culture was to find a permanent director outside of the agency, which would be a radical change in the organization. Pierson had been with the Secret Service for about 30 years before she was appointed director last year.

In order to change the culture, the leadership has to come from the outside, said Rep. Jason Chaffertz of Utah, a member of the committee reviewing the agency's operations.

Pierson was selected for the directorship primarily to restore the agency's reputation following a prostitution scandal in Colombia in 2012. But analysts surmise Pierson and the agency, as a whole, were unable to see the worsening problems within their ranks.

They may have been blinded to the problems because the Secret Service had always fallen back on their reputation, Keil speculated.

The White House has named former Comcast Corp security chief Joseph Clancy as the Secret Service's interim director. While analysts have no doubt of Clancy's capabilities, they argued that the deep-rooted cultural and leadership problems have already run deep and may require the services of a leader from the outside.

Clancy retired from the Secret Service as the chief of the presidential security division in 2011.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said last week four panelists were assigned to conduct reviews on the agency's operations. The reports are expected to be finalized in December.

He said the panelists were also encouraged to provide recommendations for the agency's leader.

Meanwhile, a separate review on the Sept. 19 White House breach by fence-jumper former Iraq veteran Omar Gonzalez is due on Nov. 1. The inquiry is reportedly being overseen by Homeland Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

TagsPublic Administration, government, United States Department of Homeland Security